Soviet Union Under Stalin

Vince BErin S

Cody MWil U

Block: 1

Stalin's Five Year Plan-Once in power, Joseph Stalin imposed government control over the Soviet Union's economy. 

-In 1928, he proposed the first of several "five year plans" aimed at building heavy industry , improving transportation, and increasing farm output.

-He brought all economic activity under government control. The government owned all businesses and distributed all resources.

Command Economy- In which government officials make all economic decisions.

Collectivization In Agriculture

-Stalin also brought agriculture under government control, but at a horrendous cost. 

-The government wanted farmers to produce more grain to feed workers in the cities. 

-It also hoped to sell grain abroad to earn money.

Collectives- Large farms owned and operated by peasants as a group. 

-On collectives, the government would provide tractors , fertilizers, and better seed, and peasants would learn modern farm methods.

-Peasants would be permitted to keep their houses and personal belongings, but all farm animals and implements were to be turned over to the collectives.

-The state set all prices and controlled access to farm supplies.

Kulaks

-Some Peasants did not want to give up their land and sell their crops at the states low prices. They resisted collectivization by killing farm animals, destroying tools, and burning crops. 

-Stalin believes that Kulaks were behind this resistance.

-Kulaks- Wealthy farmers

-Stalin responded with brutal force. In 1929, he declared his intention to liquidate the kulaks as a class. The government confiscated the Kulaks' land and sent them to labor camps. Thousands were killed or dies from overwork.

Propaganda

-Stalin tried to boost morale and faith into the communist system. He did this by using propaganda. 

-With the help of technology, he tried to make capitalism look bad, and communists look good. He did this by talking about the communists successions and about how capitalism was evil. 

-He expressed his opinions through the radio and on posters.

Censorship 

-Stalin controlled all the arts, music, and what books were to be published. 

-He required all the artists and writers to create their works in a style called socialist realism.

Socialist Realism

-The goal was to show the soviet life in a positive way and help communism become stronger and spread in the future.

-Many novels were created and published in the style. If they refused to conform to the government expectations, writers, artists, and composers faced government persecution. 

Russification

-Another way Stalin controlled the cultural life of the soviet union was by making the nationalists country more Russian.

-He also tried making the cultures of the non-Russian SSR (soviet socialists republic) like Ukraine and Uzbek more Russian by appointing Russians to high ranking positions. 

-He required the Russian language to be spoken in schools and businesses.

Atheism

-The communists party also tried to strengthen its hold on the people  by destroying their religious faith. 

-Atheism became an official state policy.

-Stalin tried to destroy religion by replacing it with his own. In peoples own private time, they would still follow their own religion.

Benefits/Drawbacks

There were some benefits. The party required all children to attend free communist-built schools. 

They provided free medical care and day care for children.

They had plenty of bread, but other foods like fruit and meat were short.

Women

-Women had equality under law. They gained access to education and a wide range of jobs. 

-The labor of women contributed to huge economic growth.